When did Dolores Huerta quit teaching?

Dolores Huerta stopped teaching in 1962 to become a renowned labor leader.

“I quit because I couldn’t stand seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes”, she had said at the time.

The same year, she co-founded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez.

Who Is Dolores Huerta?

Dolores Huerta is a labor leader, human rights activist, and co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which has now formed part of the United Farm Workers (UFW).

Born on April 10, 1930, in New Mexico, United States, Huerta was at the forefront of the Delano grape strike in 1965 in California and helped negotiate the workers’ contract afterwards.

Huerta became known for the phrase “Sí, se puede”, and became an icon of hope and a mouthpiece for the Latinos.

For her unwavering efforts, April 10 was set aside in California as Dolores Huerta Day.

Huerta has faced arrest twenty-two times for her non-violent protests and strikes, but she remains steadfast to the human rights cause.

She is a board member of People for the American Way, Consumer Federation of California, and Feminist Majority Foundation.

As far back as 1968, Huerta worked with Robert F. Kennedy and was present on stage with him during his victory speech after his win at the California Democratic presidential primary election.

Huerta has received no less than 15 honorary doctorates, and became the first Latina to be inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, in 1993.

For her community service and advocacy she has received numerous awards including “the Eugene V. Debs Foundation Outstanding American Award, the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award, the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2012.”